The issue of increasing admission quotas at medical schools at South Korean universities continues to linger: Will students who took time off in protest return to school in the new academic year?

The Korean government's plan to increase the number of students admitted to medical schools has sparked outrage from the medical community, and while the conflict with the government continues within the country, a group of medical students who are taking a leave of absence in protest against the government's policy are starting the new semester.
Now that the pandemic has arrived, attention is focused on whether students will be allowed to return to school. The government has decided to increase the number of students admitted to medical schools in the 2013 academic year, but on the condition that medical students who are refusing to attend lectures return to school by the end of this month.
The university has indicated that it will return enrollment quotas for the 2026 academic year to the levels before the increase. Universities are showing signs of being prepared to expel students who do not return to school.
In South Korea, the shortage of doctors is becoming serious, especially in rural areas. According to the "Statistics on Health and Medical Workforce in Major OECD Countries" published in 2020 by the National Assembly Research Service of Korea,
According to the report, South Korea had 2.3 doctors per 1,000 people, lower than the OECD average (3.5), the lowest among member countries.
In an effort to alleviate the doctor shortage, the South Korean government announced in February last year that it would increase medical school admissions by 2,000 students per year for five years, starting from 2025.
The number of staff members was increased to 3,507 in 1998, but was reduced to 3,058 in 2006, and has remained at 3,058 every year since. The Yun Seok-yeol administration has been promoting the "People's
"In order to protect health and lives, the expansion of the number of doctors is a contemporary issue that cannot be delayed any longer," he said, calling for an increase in the number of doctors. However, the medical community has opposed this policy.
He pointed out that the reason for the shortage is the lack of doctors in the so-called "essential medical departments" such as surgery and obstetrics and gynecology. These "essential medical departments" are extremely demanding and have a relatively high risk of lawsuits.
They claim that the high cost of surgery means doctors tend to avoid it, and doctors are concentrating in the more profitable fields of dermatology, ophthalmology, and cosmetic surgery, which ultimately leads to a shortage of doctors.
The medical community expressed their intention to protest by mass resigning of trainee doctors, which led to delays in routine medical examinations and surgeries, causing chaos in the medical field.
However, last year the Ministry of Education announced that it would recruit three university medical schools nationwide for the 2025 academic year.
It was decided that the nine medical schools would enroll a total of 4,610 students, an increase of 1,497 from the previous year. Although the increase was smaller than initially planned, it was the first increase in enrollment since 1998.
Many medical students have rebelled against the government's policy to increase the number of students admitted to medical schools, and have expressed their intention to take time off school in protest.
However, students are still absent from medical schools at various universities. Even though it is the time to register for courses, the number of applications is low.
According to the "Current Status of Medical School Applications for the First Semester of 2025" submitted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, as of the 25th of last month, 10 of the 40 medical schools nationwide had received 100 applications for lectures.
Even freshmen are hesitant to register for classes due to pressure from seniors. It is said that due to the closed nature of medical schools, it is difficult to go against the instructions of seniors.
On the 7th of this month, the government announced its intention to return the number of students admitted to medical schools next academic year to the level before the increase, on the condition that medical students return to their studies. Prior to this, 40 universities with medical schools
The Japan Medical University Association, an advisory body of university presidents, submitted a document to the Ministry of Education stating that universities would ensure that students were allowed to return to their studies if the government were to restore the admissions quotas to the levels before the increase.
On the 19th of this month, the presidents of 40 universities with medical schools announced that they would not allow medical students who are on leave to submit leave of absence applications for the new academic year in protest against the issue of increased enrollment.
According to the public broadcaster KBS, the president of a university in the Seoul metropolitan area said in an interview with the station, "Presidents have taken action, and we have gone back to the basics and done everything we can to increase the number of medical school students.
"If the medical students continue to not cancel their leave of absence, it could lead to mass expulsion," KBS said.
"The situation is becoming very tense," he said. Yonsei University, Korea University, and Kyungbuk University have already closed applications for students to return to school and register for classes on the 21st. Other universities
Universities will also be facing a deadline this week. On the 25th, the Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo reported that Yonsei University sent "notices of planned expulsion" to about 400 students who had not submitted their return to school by the deadline on the 21st.
Concerns about mass expulsions are becoming a reality. Meanwhile, students believe that the university will not be able to take the step of mass expulsion, and one student who is taking a leave of absence and whose course registration deadline has passed said,
"The atmosphere is still such that many students are taking time off," a medical student in Seoul told the JoongAng Ilbo.
Why are so many students not returning to school? The Korean newspaper Hankyoreh explained that the government's policy is limited to the number of students admitted in 2026, and the medical community is
He pointed out that this is because the policy to increase admissions is not a complete reversal of the policy, which doctors and medical students have been calling for until now.
There have been a series of comments such as "I can't go back."